


If I Only Had a Heart

by NiteWrighter



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Gency, Pre-Fall of Overwatch, don't let the title fool you it's not angsty, i mean it's pre-zenyatta genji so it's a liiiiitttle angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9339959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NiteWrighter/pseuds/NiteWrighter
Summary: Genji gets a birthday gift from Mercy. From a prompt on tumblr.





	

Ever since the cybernetics were implemented, Genji’s body had a tendency to wake itself up without his permission. Granted, they were calculated off of natural and optimum circadian rhythms, and really the process that would wake him up was in fact, supposed to be largely a ‘warm-up’ process for his cybernetics so that his body would be ready when he did wake up, but the fact that it did actually wake him up, usually just a bit earlier than he would normally like, had come to be one of the many quirks of his body that he had resigned himself to ever since Doctor Ziegler saved his life. He knew the ceiling of the medical wing at the Overwatch Zurich headquarters very well at this point. Doctor Ziegler had even arranged for him to have a room waiting for him at all possible times should he run into any issues with his cybernetics. Admittedly it had been a while since he had come back here. In his last mission he had caught a bit more of a grenade’s blast then he would have liked, thought he had walked away from it just fine, but then his left leg started seizing up and his vision receptors would get distorted and staticky and he informed his CO and next thing he knew he was back here with Doctor Ziegler hard at work to repair the damages and run a full system diagnostic. He had come in too late and too tired from his mission to even bother staying awake through it.

His visor brightened as he awoke. He glanced down at the wires running into the plates on his arms and legs and along his ribs and then heard a gentle chiming sound coming from the monitors near his bed, indicating optimal cybernetic system conditions. He figured Doctor Ziegler would come in to unplug him from the monitors any minute now, but then he heard soft snoring in the same direction as the chiming and turned his head. Doctor Ziegler was asleep at the desk. She was a disheveled heap of a person wrapped in a labcoat and slumped between desk and swivel chair. There were heavy bags under her eyes and a strand of hair was stuck to her cheek with drool and threading into the corner of her mouth, which was hanging open as she snored. Genji regarded her for several seconds and then glanced back at the ceiling again. While he was pretty sure she would wake up with a bad ache in her neck from sleeping in that position, he also didn’t really have the heart to wake her up. The monitors chimed again and Doctor Ziegler muttered something in German and resumed snoring. Genji glanced down at the wires still plugged into him and cleared his throat (not that his throat actually got any obstructions with the cybernetics). Angela continued snoring. He cleared his throat louder. Angela remained unresponsive. 

“Doctor Ziegler,” he said.

Mercy woke with a start and an unattractive “Hnguh!” noise with a piece of paper stuck to the side of her face with her own drool, coughed a bit on her own phlegm, then muttered in german as she rubbed her eyes, _“Statusbericht für diagnoskalibrier---”_ the monitors chimed again and she blinked and squinted at the monitors, peeling the paper off her face and pulling her hair out of her mouth. “Oh...” she said looking at the monitors. 

“Good morning, Doctor Ziegler,” said Genji, sitting up in his bed a bit.

“Morning...?” Mercy said, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She blinked several times and looked at the the sunny window behind Genji. “Morning,” she said, a quiet horror in her voice. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, “Morning... _Auch du scheisse..._ ” the monitor chimed again and she hit a button on her keyboard to make it stop, then got to her feet, clearly aching. She stretched and her back popped several times and she rolled her shoulders as she walked over to Genji’s bed and set to work detaching the wires from the diagnostic monitors. “I am so sorry--” she started to say.

“You’re overworking again,” said Genji.

“I am not,” Angela yawned, “Overworking.” Genji could not make a lot of facial expressions with his whole mask and helmet, but he gave Angela a steady look which prompted her to go, “Look I just missed my afternoon coffee... and...dinner...”

“You do not need to wear yourself out so for my sake,” said Genji but Mercy scoffed.

“This was hours before you came in. You are far from my only patient, Genji, I assure you,” she said, unsticking some hair stuck to her cheek with drool with her thumbnail before pulling out a final wire. “All right--vision?”

“It is excellent,” said Genji.

“Mm-hmm,” said Mercy, “And the leg?” 

Genji swung his legs over the edge of his bed and bent and straightened his left leg demonstratively before standing up on his own two feet and taking a few steps around his hospital bed. “The leg is good,” he said.

“Good,” said Mercy.

“I will report in to Jack then. I should let you get to your other patients,” said Genji, moving to walk past her.

“Wait,” Angela said.

Genji stopped and Angela went back over to the desk and pulled out a bag, which she rifled through and then pulled out a package wrapped in green paper with a silver ribbon. She put it into Genji’s hands. “Your birthday was a few days ago, wasn’t it?”

“It was?” Genji said.

“Well... according to your medical records,” said Mercy, tucking her hair back and then re-doing her bun. 

“I... have been busy with missions,” Genji said, turning the package over in his hands, “It had not really occurred to me.”

“And you say I overwork,” said Mercy, smirking and folding her arms.

“I do say that,” Genji agreed before looking back down at the package, and saying, more to himself than to her, “My family never gave much mind to birthdays...”

“If you’re not comfortable with it you don’t have to---” Mercy started but Genji shook his head.

“I am glad you are giving me this. I am glad to have something to remember you by, Doctor Ziegler,” said Genji. He glanced down at his own hands holding the gift and then said, “Aside from the obvious.” His vision lingered on the the plates in his wrists.

“Genji?” Mercy sounded worried.

“Ah--sorry! My mind wandered,” said Genji, straightening up.

"Are you---?”

“I’m fine,” said Genji. Mercy looked unconvinced and an awkward pause passed between them before Genji blurted out, “Oh! Yes! I should open it!” and before Angela could ask him if he wanted to talk about it, he had quickly and easily whipped off the wrapping paper. It was an antique hard-cover copy of _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,_ with something hanging off of it.

“A book?” Genji said, flipping it open.

“Yes,” said Mercy, “Sorry for the odd choice in titles. Real books are hard to find these days. I just... I remembered you saying you had trouble with things feeling... real... with the implants. I know it’s silly but--but a lot of people still prefer these old things over e-readers because they’re supposed to feel more, um, real.”

Genji continued flipping through the book until he stopped and pulled out a bookmark. It was covered in sparrows, with a little sparrow charm hanging on a string off of it so that he could find his page. The green glow of his visor brightened.

“They’re your favorite, right?” said Mercy.

Genji nodded then closed the book and ran his hand over the cover, feeling the slight indents of the gold leaf of the letters. 

“If you don’t like it---” Mercy started.

“I like it very much. Thank you, Doctor Ziegler,” said Genji with a slight bow.

“My pleasure,” said Mercy, “Happy Birthday.”


End file.
